Shane Gillis’s Crass ‘SNL’ Monologue Told Uncomfortable Truths About Gym Decency and Decorum

Comedian Shane Gillis, infamously fired from “Saturday Night Live,” before he ever appeared on the show, returned to its stage last weekend with an irreverent rebuke of what he sees as the breakdown of dressing decorum among young women at gyms. Mr. Gillis joked that he “didn’t know women just dress like whores now” at the gym.His remarks sparked yet another skirmish in the gender wars, as female and male accounts on X clashed over whether the phenomenon was real and, if so, whether it was bad for society. Many female influencers flooded the internet with photographs of themselves wearing tight, skimpy workout sets—their own form of bra-burning, aimed squarely at the patriarchal Mr. Gillis.Though crude, he was observing that young women increasingly seem to wear short, tight, “neon, artificial vape-colored” shorts to work out in co-ed gyms, seemingly unaware that they’re inviting gawking from men and expecting them not to look. Shane Gillis presenting ‘Saturday Night Live’ on October 10 2026. Rosalind O’Connor / NBCA not insignificant number of young men who go to gyms feel they’ve been thrown into a frustrating situation in which young women show up to work out in sexualized outfits and they have to pretend not to notice. Some women have even filmed male onlookers ogling in their direction mid-squat and posted the footage to TikTok, as if to frame them as intrusive predators with no self-control. But women who go to shared gym spaces in clothing that leaves little to the imagination to bait, then humiliate men, are not only being mean— they are ignoring unchanging male biology. When presented with sexual imagery, the male brain and libido fire on all cylinders. Men cannot easily avert their eyes from cleavage or a woman’s ultra sculpted nether regions. This is especially true of the latest shapewear technologies, such as Kim Kardashian’s Skims, which is essentially underwear masquerading as workout clothes. Kim Kardashian modeling her Milky Sheer intimate range for her SKIMS brand on August 27 2025. InstagramThis is why many young men are so annoyed. They feel that this clothing craze has assaulted them with sexual stimuli against their will, while their testosterone levels are already elevated by physical exercise. Many women online are asking men to simply suppress their sexual distraction, no matter what carrot is waved in front of them. But we should ask: Why are these women wearing such outfits? What purpose do they serve? Do they help women achieve their fitness goals — the presumed reason for being in the gym in the first place?Surely minimal fabric and stitching designed to accentuate rear cleavage do not make for a more breathable, aerodynamic, or efficient workout. It might be more liberating for men to work out shirtless and in Speedos that define their genitalia. But that is generally discouraged by society and by male peers. If men were to do that, there would likely be a massive campaign to drive them out of gyms for harassing their female counterparts. Unless they were men identifying as women, in which case the bulges are acceptable. There is the possibility that some women wear sports bras and skin-tight booty shorts to attract male attention. From my own experience, however, I have not been to many gyms where women dress particularly provocatively. I’ve seen plenty of T-shirts and leggings, though none I would find offensive. I also see many young women in New York City attend workout classes such as Pilates, Pure Barre, and Soul Cycle where the other attendees are mostly women. They wear sports bras and yoga pants but they’re not performing for the male gaze because their audience is primarily other women. Indeed, many gyms outright ban sports bras worn as tops.Jamie Lee Curtis in James Bridges’s film ‘Perfect,’ 1985. InstagramWhen the attendees are mixed genders, however, women should be aware of the impact their clothing choices may have on the men with whom they share the space. Our culture should not assume that men who object to women wearing scantily clad clothing at the gym are fantasizing about rape. Instead, we should assume that they simply want to focus on the fitness they came there to do.The other issue with abandoning modesty at the gym, where bodies are already stretched and bent in suggestive ways, is that sometimes women will attract admirers they do not want. Freedom gives the individual authority over their own choices, but not control over how other people perceive them. Yes, women should be confident in their bodies and feel good about the strength they are building in the gym. However crassly Shane Gillis may have expressed it on “Saturday Night Live,” his underlying point remains valid: Decency still matters.

Shane Gillis’s Crass ‘SNL’ Monologue Told Uncomfortable Truths About Gym Decency and Decorum

Shane Gillis’s Crass ‘SNL’ Monologue Told Uncomfortable Truths About Gym Decency and Decorum

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